


The Younger Shephard

by Apolln



Category: Lost
Genre: Eating Disorders, F/M, Overprotective Jack, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-08 11:37:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11645763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apolln/pseuds/Apolln
Summary: Lana Shephard boarded Flight 815 with her brother, hoping to bury their father and move on with their lives. Now stuck on the island with an over protective brother, a sweet talking Southerner, and no idea what's going on, will she survive the Island and it's many secrets? Or will her own issues be the death of her? Sawyer/OC





	1. Chapter 1

I awoke with a gasp, warm air entering my lungs like I'd been drowning, pain filling them as though I hadn't breathed in hours. My hazel eyes flashed open and squint at the bright light they find, but soon fall upon a middle aged man in a crinkled suit sitting just in front of me, out of breath - my brother.

"You're okay." Jack says, his eyes finding mine. "You got knocked out, winded, but you're fine. Deep breaths."

Although I hated it when he told me what to do, I listened to him. I gave him a nod as I sat up before taking a look around, finally noticing the screams and creaking entering my ears. The plane had crashed, a huge piece of it thrown onto the sand about 50 feet in front of me. People stood, screaming their heads off, searching for loved ones, helping the wounded.

"Lana, I need you to stay around here, okay?" My head whips back around to Jack, almost forgetting that he was here. He stands quickly, brushing the sand off of him as he looks around. "I need to get out there, help people."

I nod my head, though I didn't want him to go. This was one of the scariest things to ever happen to me, being alone would just make it scarier. I let him turn though, making his way to someone who needed him more than his little sister.

"Wait, Jack!" His head turns and I run towards him, throwing my hands around him in a hug. We didn't hug often, probably about 5 times in our whole lives, but this felt necessary. "I'm glad you didn't die."

"Yeah," he chuckles, hugging me quickly and tightly before stepping away. "Me too."

I watch him go then, running towards a man with his leg stuck under a bit of the plane. He got a few men to help him pull him out and it was then I chose to look away. I don't handle queasy things well.

I took a look around the beach we were stranded on, searching for anyone that I could help, anything that I could do. I spotted a young blonde woman, about 5 years younger than me, screaming her head off. I run towards her.

"Hey!" I shout, coming to her side. She stops screaming but it doesn't stop the panicked look on her eyes, eyes wide as she stares at me. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she sobs, hand coming to her face as she cries and for a second, I'm scared she's gonna start screaming again. "My brother, h-he left to help, he's a life guard."

I took a look around, spotting a young brown-haired man with my brother, talking heatedly about the woman laying near them. I glance back at the blonde girl in front of me.

"I can see him. He's with my brother, trying to help." I point my finger towards them but she doesn't look, taking my word. "Come on, why don't we go sit down?"

I lightly grip her arm and she lets me guide her over to a log that's situated on the end of the beach, close to the jungle line. Once we sit down, I hold my hand out.

"Lana."

She shakes it, with a hint of an eye roll that I can't understand and a tiny smile that I appreciate.

"Shannon."

"We're gonna be okay, Shannon." I hold my hands out and gesture to the huge ocean down the beach. "We're gonna see a rescue boat in that water soon. Think of the settlement money we'll all be entitled to!"

She lets out a laugh and wipes away a tear that threatened to escape before leaning back on the log. I've done my deed for the day, saved everyone from a Shannon induced headache.

By the time Jack came back to me, it was night time. I had an eventful evening of helping to build fires along the beach with a kind Arab man named Sayid, he's hoping they'll help someone spot us. I hope he's right.

My brother sat down next to me on an airplane seat I'd dubbed as mine, holding out a tray of food that I gladly took.

"Hey," he started, glancing at me with a look of concern that I'd grown used to all my life. "How you holding up?"

"Well, the rescue boat hasn't come yet." I opened the plastic fork, stabbing it into the chicken in the tray and taking a small bite. While chewing, I look over at him. "So there's that."

"Look, about that, I'm going into the jungle tomorrow to find the cockpit." I open my mouth to interrupt him, but he holds his hand up. "If we find it, there's a good chance of finding a transceiver. Then we can contact a rescue team and get home."

"I'm going with you then." I set my tray on the ground in front of us and I watch him eye it.

"Lana," he lets out a breathy laugh but his eyes look stressed. "No, you're not."

"What?!" My voice raises and a couple of people turn to look at us and I glare at them before putting my attention back on him, lowering my voice. "Jack, I'm not just gonna let you go dancing through a jungle on a deserted island by yourself."

"I'm not going by myself. Kate's coming, too. She saw smoke earlier and it's not that far from here, so I won't be gone long."

I let myself sigh, and stare at the fire in front of us. "Fine, but if you die, I'm bringing you back and kicking you in the balls."

"Okay, fair enough." Jacks head falls as he laughs but it's short lived, and I don't know why. There's a pause before he asks, "Is that all you're gonna eat?"

Panic rang threw me as I tried to think of a response but I didn't have a chance to answer him, a loud metallic screech coming from the jungle in front of us. We both stood, his arm coming around my back as we looked on with the other survivors.

"What the hell was that?" Someone asked. A few other people murmured around us, all eyes glued to the jungle that loomed in front of us.

Suddenly, tall trees in the distance began to fall, being toppled over by whatever was making the loud noises. I let myself shrink closer to Jack, though soon enough, it stopped.

I didn't sleep much that night. Surviving a plane crash was one thing, but waiting for rescue with whatever was in that jungle wasn't an easy thing to do. Walking around the beach that morning, I could tell I wasn't the only one that was tired.

I screech when my foot collides with something, pushing my hands forward when my body decided to fall forward. Looking back, I glare at the leg my foot had touched.

"Watch where you're going, sweetheart." My eyes snap up to meet the owner of the leg I'd glared holes in. It was a man with dirty blonde hair and a cigarette wedged between smirking lips. I stood up quickly.

"Excuse me?" With crosses arms, I scoff. "An apology would be nice."

"I ain't apologising for shit. You hurt my leg," he makes a show of touching said leg and pretends to wince before looking up at me with a grin. "Might even have to get your doctor boyfriend to look at it."

"First of all, don't be a jackass." I glare at him, not liking his attitude. "And for your information, he's my brother, definitely not my boyfriend. Ew!"

The grin on his face gets bigger and I'm left to wonder if he even heard what I said.

"Well, thank god for that, huh?" He throws a wink at me and I swear my mouth drops open. Is he for real? I shake my head at him before storming off.

My eyes fall upon Jack, a brunette woman (Kate, I'm guessing) and a blonde guy walk into the jungle and I'm angry again. He didn't even say goodbye before he left?

"Lana, over here!" My head snaps over to the call of my name and I'm met with the sight of the pregnant blonde I'd spoken to yesterday. I'll have to learn her name. I make my way over to her, trying to allow myself to relax a bit before Jack comes back from his stupid mission. He'd get an earful then.


	2. Chapter Two

I spent the majority of the morning sorting through luggage with Boone, Shannon’s step-brother. I learned that other than having godly looks, he was actually a pretty decent guy. Turns out, he and Shannon loathed each other. I found this out after he went to ask her to help out and came back cursing her entire existence. It kind of made my day. 

Shouting interrupted us while taking a break by the water, and my gaze fell upon a group of people starting to huddle around. Instantly, I was on my feet and on my way over there, barely feeling surprised when I recognized the redneck from earlier in the middle of a fight. Claire had told me his name was Sawyer, but god knows how she found that out. 

I picked up on a few snippets of him yelling nonsense about Sayid being a terrorist before their clenched hands were flying towards each other. My legs moved quicker than my brain and I soon found myself in the middle of them, pushing both of them as hard as I could. As you can imagine, this did absolutely nothing given the fact that I’m a 26-year-old woman and they were both well-built men that towered over me.

“Hey, stop!” I was trying to shout over them now, but neither of them really noticed me. I gave Sayid’s chest a good shove at the same time Sawyer’s fist was headed towards him and it hits my cheek with a smack. I’m not going to lie, I did let out a cry, but I’d like to think it sounded tough. Luckily, Jack decided to come back from his jungle mission at the right time and he and another man came to my rescue, each of them grabbing one of the fighting men. I pretended not to notice the look my brother gave me. Sayid continued to shout at Sawyer, who was also trying to escape the man’s grip on him.

“STOP!” All eyes landed on Kate, whose voice can apparently end wars. “Look, we found the transceiver, but it’s not working. Can anybody help?”

I held my hand up to my now burning face while everyone looked around at each other, hoping someone could help us get off this island. There was definitely going to be a bruise, and I cursed myself for not thinking before getting straight in the middle flying fists. Jack was going to kill me. 

“Yes, I might be able to.” Sayid speaks up and as suspected, someone isn’t happy about it.

“Oh, great, perfect! Let’s trust this guy!” Guess who. 

“Oh, shut up, Sawyer.” I couldn’t stop myself from muttering. His eyes snapped over to me and he opens his mouth to speak before I’m backed up by Hurley, who tried to give me food earlier.

“Hey, we’re all in this together, man. Let’s treat each other with a little respect.”

“Shut up, Lardo.”

“Hey, give it a break.” Jack spoke, the look on this face clearly saying that he’s too tired for this crap. 

“Whatever you say, Doc.” Sawyer throws his hands up. “You’re the hero.”

I watched as he walked down the beach, away from the others as they talked on about the transceiver. He holds a cigarette to his lips and lights it before sitting down, eyes flickering up just in time to meet mine before I can look away. He flashes a smug look towards me before disregarding me completely. 

“Hey,” my head snaps towards the person coming towards me. “What were you thinking back there?”

“I was thinking that I needed to stop them from killing each other.” I glared at my brother. “I saw about 7 men watching them duke it out and not one of them tried to stop them. Idiots.”

Jack’s eyes were narrow as if he was trying to figure out if what I was saying was true, before he dropped his gaze to my cheek. His hand reached out and just before it could touch the bruise forming on my cheekbone, I pulled back with a wince, too prepared for the pain it would cause. 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ll take a look at it tonight if you want.” He told me, before Rose interrupted us about an injured man. I let him walk off and go on my own hunt to find a mirror. 

About an hour later, Charlie, a British man who was apparently a rock star, ended up telling me about a hike they were going on to try to use the transceiver. I couldn’t really explain why, but I wanted to go with them. Since we’d crashed, I felt as if I had done nothing to help contribute or help. That was going to change, whether Jack liked it or not. And believe me, he wouldn’t. 

“Where are you going?” I froze, walking past the tent Jack was in with a backpack on my shoulder and a now guilty look on my face.

“I’m going with them – on the hike.” I adjust the backpack on my shoulder and give a small shrug. 

“Lana-“

“I’m going, Jack. I’m not just gonna sit around, waiting for help when I can go try to find it. I have to something.” I watched him with narrowed eyes, waiting for him to try to talk me out of it, to say no. But surprisingly, he didn’t. 

“Okay.” He nodded his head and took a step towards me, his hand landing on my shoulder to give it a tight squeeze. “But promise me you’ll be careful.”

To say I was shocked was an understatement, but I wasn’t about to question him. I gave him a nod before turning, ready to head back to the group of people waiting for me. 

“Hey.” I stopped, turning around with a look that can only be described as impatient. “I mean it, be careful.”

There was a serious expression on his face, almost like fear. It nearly made me change my own mind about going. Instead, I gave him a small smile before spinning around to make my way over again. I was left feeling more uneasy than excited about this hike. What the hell was in this jungle?

“I didn’t know you were coming.” I greeted Boone once we began to walk through the trees. He shot a look at his sister, who was staring at the forest floor with a look of disgust, before giving me a tight-lipped smile.

“Neither did I.” That gave me all the explaining I needed. 

After a good five minute walk, we all turn when we hear someone closing in behind us. I couldn’t help crossing my arms in annoyance when I realized who it was.

“You decided to join us.” Kate said with eyebrows raised. Sawyer gave a shrug, meeting my eyes.

“I’m a complex guy, sweetheart.”


	3. Chapter Three

I was surrounded by greenery, tall trees encompassed us and long grass whipped our covered legs as we made our way further through the jungle Jack told me to be careful about. So far, the only thing I was worried about were the mosquitos, my body no doubt already covered in tiny red bumps. I’d spent the majority of this walk, give or take an hour, just eavesdropping on the others. Kate and Sayid were mostly talking about the transceiver and how it worked, whereas Shannon and Boone were arguing most of the time.

I felt myself falling back a little from the group, my legs growing tired already, and as I looked on to the giant hills we’d have to climb, I knew I’d have to push through the ache my body felt. I hadn’t noticed someone else had fallen back alongside me until they spoke.

“Nice shiner you got there.” My head whipped to the side, eyeing Sawyer’s gaze that fell upon the bruise on my cheekbone. It barely hurt anymore, my brain more concerned with the strain I was putting on my body. “You always get your nose where it don’t belong, or are me and Mohammed just special?”

“I guess I just couldn’t stand around and watch you get your ass kicked.” I threw him a smirk of my own.

“Honey, I would’ve won that tussle and you know it.” There’s a glare in his expression now, but it was a playful one. I caught Kate looking back at the two of us, almost assessing our conversation though I was sure she couldn’t hear it. Sawyer took notice of this as well, and seemed to take it as a cue to be annoying again.

“Okay! Wide open space!” He threw his hands up. “You should check the radio, see if we're good.”

“We're not going to have any reception here.” Sayid muttered, hardly glancing back at him as he continued walking.

“Just try it.” Sawyer sneers.

“I don't want to waste the batteries.” There was an edge to the darker man’s tone now and I’m sure we all prepared ourselves for another fight to break out.

“Just check the damn radio!”

“If I just check… We might not have any juice left when we get to–“ Sayid was interrupted by a growl coming from the distance. We all turned, my mind flashing back to the sound we had heard on the first night when the trees fell.

“Oh my God.” I couldn’t help saying and suddenly, I was lightheaded. The stress of the situation – the plane crash, the jungle, not to mention the stress I had been putting on my body, all catching up with me.

“What the hell is that?” I heard Boone ask.

“It's coming towards us, I think.” Charlie said, and I knew he was right. Heavy footsteps were headed towards us, giant thuds on the ground. Whatever it was, it was big.

“Come on, let's move.” Kate tells us before she’s turning and starting to run. I watched them with black spotted vision, urging my legs to move, just **_MOVE_** – but instead they buckle, and the ground hits my knees harshly.

“Lana!” Boone shouts from a distance, the same time I swear I heard Sawyer’s name being called.

“Leave them!” Sayid yelled out and just like that, our slowly growing friendship was over.

I fought through the darkness my vision was trying to create, urging myself not to collapse – not now, of all times. I could still feel the dirt on my knees, but then felt a strong arm come around me, pulling me up. Loud bangs sounded and I jumped on my feet, my vision clearing and my brain waking up. I could see the group stood just in the distance, all of them looking just past me and when my head whipped around, I couldn’t stop the scream that left my mouth as I watched the huge creature fall in from of me. My mouth stayed open when I saw Sawyer’s hand, the one that wasn’t holding me up, holding a gun.

“That's... that's a big bear.” Shannon spoke quietly as the rest of them joined us, all of our eyes glued to the white bear that laid just meters away. The grip on my waist loosened, but his hand never moved from it, staying there to steady me.

“You think that's what killed the pilot?” Boone asked, and we all look Kate and Charlie who were there for that.

“No.” Charlie responded. “No, that's a tiny, teeny version compared to that.”

“Guys, this isn't just a... bear. That's a polar bear.” Kate told us and the longer I looked at it, the more I realized she was right.

“Yeah, but... Polar bears don't usually live in the jungle.” Shannon pointed out and I had to give her credit for saying what we were all thinking.

“Spot on.” Charlie glances at her.

“No, polar bears don't live near this far south.” Sayid said, also pointing out the obvious.

“Well, this one does.” I shrugged and moved away from Sawyer, feeling able to stand on my own. I couldn’t help noticing how everyone stared at me, though.

“Did. It did.” The Southerner points to the dead animal.

“Where did that come from?” Kate asked him.

“Probably Bear Village. How the hell do I know?” His eyebrows raised as he looked at her, his shoulders shrugging while he spoke.

“Not the bear. The gun.” She corrected him.

“I got if off one of the bodies.” Sawyer told her, putting the gun in his back pocket. I watched Sayid roll his eyes at the man.

“People don't carry guns on planes.” Shannon said, a nervousness in her tone.

“They do if they're a US Marshal, sweet cheeks.” He threw a tight-lipped smile her way. “There was one on the plane.”

“How do you know that?” Kate asked, and for a second, I thought she sounded nervous, too.

“I saw a guy lying there with an ankle holster, so I took the gun. I thought it might come in handy. Guess what? I just shot a bear!” He throws his hands up with an incredulous laugh.

“So why do you think he's a Marshal?”

“Because he had a clip-on badge.” He held one up. “I took that too. Thought it was cool.”

“I know who you are. You're the prisoner.” Sayid spoke and I inwardly groaned at the thought of another fight breaking out between them.

“I'm the _what_?”

“You found a gun on a US Marshal. Yes, I believe you did. You knew where it was, because you were the one he was bringing back to the States. Those handcuffs were on you. That's how you knew there was a gun.” The Arab accused.

“Piss off.” Sawyer growls.

“That's who you are, you son of a bitch.”

“Fine! I'm the criminal. You're the terrorist. We can all play a part.” He looked over at me, his smirk finding itself back to his lips. “Who do you want to be?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, simply just trying to be an asshole, and as he turned to walk away, Kate grabbed the gun in his back pocket. I nearly choked in surprise.

“Does anybody know how to use a gun?” She asked, pointing the offending item at him.

“I think you just pull the trigger.” Charlie said, his eyes as wide as mine.

“Don't use the gun.” Sayid told her, a softness in his voice.

“I want to take it apart.” Kate replied, tears sprung in her eyes. It’s enough to make me let out the breath I was holding in.

“There's a button on the grip. Push that, it will eject the magazine.” Kate followed Sayid’s instructions and the magazine fell to the ground. She moved to pick it up, but stops when he speaks again. “There's still a round in the chamber. Hold the grip, pull the top part of the gun.”

When the gun had finally been taken apart, she gave the magazine to Sayid and the empty gun to Sawyer. There was a tense couple of seconds before we began to make our way through the jungle again.

“Hey,” A hand caught my arm and I was pulled a bit away from the rest of the group. “What the hell was that back there?”

Kate was standing there, a concerned look on her face as she stared at me. I decided to play dumb.

“The gun? He said he got it from one of the bodies–“

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.” The look she gave me was hard and my throat felt dry when I swallowed. “Are you okay? Have you been eating enough?”

“Um,” I couldn’t help faltering, my eyes dropping from hers and I knew she’d caught onto it. “I think I’m just dehydrated, Kate. You know, with the heat and the sun, I don’t think I’ve been drinking enough.”

It’s a lie I used constantly and one that no one seemed to believe, even Kate. I grabbed the bottle of water she held in front of me anyway and I watched as she eyed me taking a large gulp.

“You two gonna stand there gossipin’, or are we moving?” Sawyer calls, standing with the rest of them as they waited for us. I started to walk towards them when Kate’s hand caught my arm again.

“I’m keeping an eye on you until we get back.” She told me and with the dead set look in her eyes, I knew she meant it. I watched her meet up with the others before we all began walking again. Boone looked back and caught my eye and I gave him the smallest smile I could muster.

**_*Flashback*_ **

Bright lights met my eyes as they opened, blinding me slightly before I could realise my surroundings. I knew I’d been there before, in this exact room – the white walls, the ugly paintings, the look on my mother’s face. She spotted my open eyes and bolted up.

“She’s awake!” I’m sure she said it in a whisper, but in this room, it felt like she was shouting and I couldn’t help the cringe I made. “Oh, honey, you scared us.”

She said that every time. Every single time I ended up back here. She acted like it was a surprise, a surprise that her only daughter had ended up nearly killing herself _again_.

“They’ve booked a bed for you.” My head jerked, looking towards the door of the room. My father stood there, like he always did – at a distance. His arms were crossed as he looked at me. “It’s the same one you had last time.”

“I don’t need a bed.” I sat up quickly, ignoring the pain that shot through my arm from the IV. I looked between the two of them with desperation. “I’m fine, I don’t need—“

“Fine?” My dad’s voice was raised now and there was a look of disbelief on his face. “Lana, you didn’t eat for six days straight. How is that fine?”

“Christian—“ My mother, my kind-hearted, _naïve_ mother, tried to speak.

“She’s killing herself!” His face was red now and I knew better than to even try to lie my way through this. “She’s sick, Margo! She’s **SICK**!”

He left the room straight after that and the door slammed behind him with a loud bang. My eyes met my mothers, but she quickly shook her head and followed after him.

The thing is, my dad was right. He may have been short-tempered and straight up horrible to me most of the time, but he was right.

I was sick.

And I was destroying this family.

**_***_ **

We managed to get something on the transceiver a little while after that. There was a French woman pleading for help that had been playing on a loop for sixteen years. We all knew what that meant. No one was coming for us. But we also knew we couldn’t tell the others. People were already panicking and this would just make it worse.

After spending the night in the jungle and more gun drama, we had eventually made our way back to the beach. I watched on as Sayid made a speech about what we needed to send out a distress signal. Pulling out a water bottle from my backpack, I watched as Kate made her way towards Jack, who was standing outside the makeshift infirmary. I took three large gulps of the warm liquid, and as I lowered the bottle, I caught Jack’s eye.

He wasn’t happy.

I prepared myself for a hell worse than this.


	4. Chapter Four

This fic is not beta'd so any mistakes are my own. Trying my best not to make any though! :')

xxx

 

When Jack finally came to me, I was sitting under a tarp with a book I'd found. The weather on this island was unpredictable. I had been sitting in the sun with Shannon just minutes before it started down pouring. When I saw the look on his face, I set the book down, preparing myself for what was coming.

"Hey." He crouched down and sat next to me on the dry sand, water dripping from his soaked head. "How are you feeling?"

"Wet." My hand reached up to point at my own rained on hair and I gave him a small smile. "But other than that – just dandy."

"How did the hike go?" He asked and I let out a deep sigh.

"Just get straight to it, Jack. Stop beating around the bush." I watch him roll his eyes. "I know Kate told you what happened. Yes, I collapsed. Dehydration  _is_  dangerous. I've been drinking more water. I'm fine now."

He stared at me with eyebrows raised as I listed off my responses to his unasked questions and after a beat of silence, he let out a harsh laugh.

"Yeah, I bet you are. Except you and I both know that dehydration isn't what caused that to happen, Lana." I made sure to avoid his eyes, and gaze out into the rain. "You said you were better. If I knew things were still like this—"

"If things were still like this, you'd what? You'd have left me there to rot in that stupid place? Jack, the people in there were crazy. They were hiding rocks in their underwear."

"What, and what you're doing now isn't?" My eyes locked onto him with a hardness. "We're gonna run out of food at some point and my guess is sometime soon, so next time you skip a meal, remember that. I can't resuscitate you here when your heart gives out."

Tears sprung quickly in my eyes at his words and I stood up abruptly, ripping my arm out of his grip when he reached for it. If I had looked back, I would have seen his expression matched mine. We were both at a loss.

"Just leave me alone, Jack." I was thankful for the torrential rain at that moment, because as I walked past the other survivors, searching for a different shelter to sit under, I didn't think anyone could see. My eyes came across a shelter I'd recognized and the rational half of my brain told me to just walk past it. I followed the advice of the other half, opening the tarp and finding it empty. Well, not completely empty. There were books scattered everywhere and a few packs of cigarettes were piled on top of a suitcase in the corner. It was small, but it was big enough for the mental breakdown I needed to have.

So, when I sat down in the shelter that wasn't mine, I cried. I cried until my lungs hurt from sobbing, until my eyes were swollen and tear ducts running dry.

Jack had always been like this with me. Our mom would baby me, give me anything I wanted, and just fuel the relapses I always ended up having. Our dad would humiliate me, verbally abuse me or just ignore his daughter completely, which I honestly felt was most of the reason I ended up this way. Because he did those things even  _before_  I was sick.

But Jack – he was always tough about it. My brother was constantly in doctor mode, listing off things that would happen to me, what nutrients I wasn't getting, how many calories I needed to get through a day. He was always tough – never soft. He was never asking how I  _got this way_ , how therapy went. He just acted like it was my own fault – like I wanted to be like this.

"Well, well, well…" Sawyer's voice made me jump as he entered the shelter I'd snuck into. "I've been waitin' for this, sweetheart."

I threw him a glare, face dried of any trace that not ten minutes ago, I was soaking his makeshift bed with tears. He didn't seem to notice my swollen eyes or red nose as he stood there with a smug smile, either that or he was ignoring it. "Don't flatter yourself, Sawyer."

"Flatter myself?" He let out a small laugh, sitting beside me on the makeshift bed he'd been calling his since the crash. The man looked over at me with a twinkle in his eye and I tried my best not to roll her eyes. "Honey, this won't be the last time I catch you in here."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." I let out a laugh of my own, before standing, ready to leave. The rain had stopped a while ago.

"Hey," I turned, listening. "What was all that back with you and Dr. Jackass?"

"Why do you care?" My lips were a thin line, my guard up. Though, it never really went down when it came to my issues. I didn't think anyone could actually see us arguing through the rain that had pelted on everyone. But since Jack was acting the hero, I guess I wasn't surprised people were always watching him.

"Now who's flattering themselves?"

I left his tent after that, ignoring the smirk that followed me. My eyes caught the gaze of Boone, who was starting to build a fire, and made my way over to him.

"Need a hand?" I asked, hand on my hip as I watched him throw a piece of firewood in the pit he'd created. The dark haired man looked up at me with a relief clear on his face, as well as sweat.

"Yes." He exaggerates the word and I let out a laugh, making my way over to the wood. Luckily, someone had put the wood people had collected under a tarp before the rain earlier that day, or it would be a very dark night on the beach. Unbeknownst to me, it would be either way. "I asked Shannon, big mistake as usual, and she said something about breaking a nail. I swear, she doesn't realise we're stranded on a deserted island and not the Hilton."

"At least she's getting a good tan out of it." I snort.

After throwing a few sticks into the fire Boone had started, I caught eyes with someone across the beach. Jack waved me over with a look on his face I couldn't quite place. I let out a deep sigh before looking back to Boone.

"Hey, I'll be back, okay?" After giving him the heads up, I made her way over to him.

"Come to beg for my forgiveness?" I asked, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Yeah, actually." Jack surprised me and I realized the look on his way actually could be placed – guilt. "Look, I know I haven't always been your biggest supporter."

"Could say that again." I muttered, forcing him to hold his hand up.

"But that's because I didn't have to be the only one. I shouldn't have said what I said earlier, I said it out of anger. Fear, even." I allowed my arms to fall, taking in what he was saying. He'd never been this honest with me. "But we're the only family we have on this island and I… I can't let you take that away from me."

"Jack—" I moved to take a step towards him, but he put a hand on my arm.

"I don't want to watch you destroy yourself anymore. I blamed you for so long, when maybe I should have been blaming myself. I didn't do anything to help you." Tears formed in his eyes and for a minute, I could have sworn I was imagining it. "That's gonna change."

Jack let me wrap my arms around him after that, engulfing him in a hug that said everything I needed to say. I didn't know how long they were standing there, but we were interrupted by Hurley.

I heard him ask my brother a question as he approached, but I was too busy sniffing to understand what he had said. I let my hands drop as Jack backed away.

"I saw her go in the tent." His head nudged towards the infirmary.

"You let her in there alone?" Hurley seemed shock.

"What's she going to do?" Jack lets out of a small laugh. "She's 120 pounds soaking wet."

"Yeah, but she's got that gun."

"What?" The doctor questioned, taking a step forward.

"She's strapped, man. I saw it in her... in her—" Hurley's sentence never finished as Jack ran towards the tent. I had no idea what was happening.

"Kate?!" Jack shouted, and not even three seconds later, she left the tent, looking back with a sadness in her eyes. A gun shot sounded just afterward and we all jumped. Kate walked off while Sawyer left the tent with a gun.

"What did you do?" I heard my brother ask, anger erupting in his tone.

"What you couldn't." Sawyer glared at him. "Look, I get where you're coming from being a doctor and all, but he wanted it. Hell, he asked me. So, I don't like it any more than you do, but something had to be done."

There was a silence before a choking sound came from the infirmary tent. The marshal didn't die. I felt sick.

"Oh, no way. Guys?" Hurley asked, his cringe mirroring the one on my face beside him. We watched Jack and Sawyer go back into the tent, where they could be heard arguing from outside. Hurley left after this, muttering a quick 'Oh, boy' as his head shook.

Sawyer left the tent minutes later, trying to light a cigarette but having no luck. I watched him throw the cigarette, shouting. It was clear he felt bad – guilty. But I didn't know how I was meant to feel towards him in that moment.

Suddenly, the choking sound stopped and Jack walked out of the tent with an empty look on his face. He didn't even look at me as he walked past. The marshal was dead.

And as I sat on the beach in the spot I was standing in, I realized that it wasn't the jungle Jack should've warned me about. It was the way this island was changing people. I could barely recognize my own brother with that look on his face.

What the hell was going to happen to me?


	5. Chapter Five

I woke up to the sound of barking, something I hadn’t heard since long before we crashed the plane crash. The little boy on the island, Walt, had found his dog a few days ago and although it was nice having him around, I desperately craved sleep.

I groaned as people got to their feet, knowing I wouldn’t be getting any more shut eye for a while now. And as people started to gather around the fuselage, I got to my own feet, curious.

“Somebody's in there.” Claire said, once I had reached the group of people forming. I saw Jack, who had been sleeping near me, run over and stood a bit closer to him once he’d reached us.

“Everyone in there is dead.” Sayid replied.

“Sawyer.” Jack muttered, with a shake of his head.

“Right behind you, Jackass.” I turned, glancing back to see that he was in fact behind us. The insulted look on his face made me bite down a laugh. Jack pulls a small flashlight out of his pocket and starts moving towards the plane with Sawyer following behind him, a much bigger light in his hand.

“Jack?” I heard Kate call. She’s standing a few feet away from me. I didn’t know if I was still mad at her or not, so I’ve been ignoring her completely. After a few minutes, we all see Jack and Sawyer running out of the fuselage.

“Run.” My brother told us. So we did, all stumbling over each other to escape whatever was in that plane. I ended up tripping over Charlie and we both fell, sand covering me head to toe. I let out a groan as Jack helped us both up. I take a glance back and see three big animals running into the jungle. They looked like pigs.

“They're gone.” Sayid said.

“What the bloody hell was that?” Charlie asked from beside me, brushing sand from his jeans.

“Boars.” Everyone turned to look at a bald man that I hadn’t really spoken to. He had a grin on his face and it was enough to freak me out.

Jack decided we needed to burn the fuselage at sundown the next day. There was a bit of an argument about it, everyone thinking the people inside it deserved better. I had to agree with that. But with a fire that big, we all had hope that someone would see it, that we could be rescued.

The next morning, I woke up tired. The events of last night plagued my mind and made it hard for me to find sleep. I sat up and stretched and my eyes caught hold of something I wish they hadn’t. Another fight. I heaved a sigh before making my way over. The bruise on my cheekbone only just starting to fade.

“What's your problem, man? Hand them over.” I heard Hurley ask, trying to pull a backpack out of Sawyer’s hands.

“How about no?” Was the response he got.

“There's other people here, or don't you give a crap?” Hurley pulled once more. I could see some packaged food sticking out of the backpack they were fighting over.

“Well, if one of us wouldn't eat more than his fair share...”

“Oh that's bull and you know it.” Hurley said.

“Come on, Sawyer. You're not happy unless you're screwing everybody over...” I watched them get a bit closer to each other and took a step further, throwing my two cents in.

“Hey I'm peachy, Twiggy.” My eyes narrowed at the nickname, before I spot Jack and Sayid coming towards us.

“Guys, knock it off.” Boone told them.

“Stay out of this, Metro.” Sawyer threw a glare at him, before Jack was pulling him away.

“What's going on?” My brother asked, looking between the two of them.

“Jethro here's hoarding the last of the peanuts.” Hurley informs him.

“My own stash. I found it in there.” Sawyer points to the fuselage we planned to burn.

“What about the rest of the food?” Jack’s brows furrowed.

“There is no rest of the food, dude. We kind of—ate it all.” Hurley let out and we all looked at each other in shock. My eyes immediately fell on Jack who caught my gaze. I had just started eating small amounts. He worked hard on that with me. What was going to happen now?

“What?” Shannon exclaimed, as the rest of the gathering said similar things.

“Okay everybody, just calm down.” Jack raised his voice, trying to stop the panic.

“We can find food. There are plenty of things on this Island we can use for sustenance.” Sayid told us.

Sawyer took a seat on a nearby airplane seat, wiping the sweat off his forehead with an annoyed look on his face. “And how exactly are we going to find his sustenance?”

We all jumped when a knife is thrown into the seat next to his, and I looked at Sawyer with wide eyes. If that had gone just mere inches to the right, he would be dead. My head turned to look at the bald man from last night, who was standing in the distance with a smile on his lips.

“We hunt.” He said. Jack pulled the knife out of the seat, inspecting it, before walking towards the man.

“How'd you get that knife on the plane?” Kate asked.

“Checked it.” He shrugged, before Jack handed the knife back to him.

“You either have very good aim, or very bad aim, Mr...”

“Locke. His name is Locke.” Michael told us.

“Okay Mr. Locke, what is it that we're hunting?” My brother asked.

“We know there are wild boar on the Island. Razorbacks, by the look of them. The ones that came into the camp last night were piglets, 100, 150 pounds each. Which means that there's a mother nearby. A 250 pound rat, with scimitar-like tusks, and a surly disposition, who'd love nothing more than to eviscerate anything that comes near. Boar's usual mode of attack is to circle around and charge from behind so I figure it'll take at least three of us to distract her long enough for me to flank one of the piglets, pin it, and slit its throat.” He spoke very casually about it and that was enough to freak me out.

 

“And you gave him his knife back?” Sawyer asked Jack, mirroring my own thoughts.

“Well, if you've got a better idea.” Jack shrugged.

“Better than the three of you wandering into the magic forest to bag a hunk of ham with nothing but a little bitty hunting knife? Hell no, it's the best idea I ever heard.” The blonde’s eyebrows raised. There was a clicking noise and I turned back to see Locke had opened a suitcase filled with loads of knives. Needless to say, I was even more freaked out by him.

“Who is this guy?” Hurley asked.

After that, three people went off on a hunt to find us food. Kate, Michael and Locke. I started searching for sticks to put in the fuselage when Claire came up to me.

“Hey,” She greeted me, a nervous smile on her face. “Um, I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to help me? I’m thinking of doing a memorial service tonight for all the… people, and I need some help looking for passports and things.”

“That sounds a hell of a lot better than lugging these things around.” I laughed, throwing the sticks I’d found toward the plane. She gave me a smile before leading the way to the station she’d made.

We’d spent a few hours sorting through many pieces of paper and identification cards, when she found something that belonged to Sayid. I watched her make her way over to him when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, seeing Sawyer behind me.

“Hey, uh...” He stood awkwardly and my forehead creased in confusion. “These were, um. I found these the other day when I was...”

I threw a glance down at his hands, which held a stack of wallets. I rolled my eyes. “Stealing from the dead?”

“Aw hell, just take it.” He threw them on the stack in front of me and I gave him a small smile.

“Thanks, Sawyer.” I watched him walk off when Claire approached, and I showed her the wallets he gave us when she turned a curious eyebrow up.

Night time rolled around quite quickly given the work we were doing and as the plane burned, I watched Claire read out the names we’d found with a sad smile on my face. Even if the fire did get noticed, the circumstances weren’t nice.

“Hey.” Kate stands next to me. “You seen Jack?”

It was then I realized I hadn’t seen him in a few hours and panic hit me within seconds. I did a quick turn, scanning the faces in the crowd before I spotted a figure sitting by the water. Kate caught on and saw him, too.

“I’m gonna go talk to him.” I told her, before making my way over to him. When I reached him, I noticed a strange look on his face. It almost matched the emptiness he wore after the Marshal died. I sat down next to him.

“Everything okay?” It was something I hardly asked him, that question usually aimed at me instead. It was selfish really. His eyes caught mine for a second before he was staring out into the water again.

“I saw him, Lana.” His voice was quiet and it was enough to make my heart beat faster. The last time I’d seen Jack like this was when him and his wife split.

“Saw who?” I asked, sitting up straight. “You’re freaking me out a bit.”

“I saw Dad.”

If my heart could fall through my stomach, I was sure it just happened. I was suddenly the sane sibling. Our father was dead, his casket was on that plane with us. I put my hand on his arm, pulling on him to look at me.

“Jack, what are you talking about?” When his head turned, I could see the bags under his eyes. But above the bags was a look of fear in his eyes.

“I saw him.”

 

\--

 

If anyone has any advice or constructive criticism, that would be great! Haven't written a fic in so long, so I know I'm rusty.


	6. Chapter Six

The morning after Jack’s strange confession, a woman drowned. Boone had tried to help her but ended up nearly drowning himself. Jack had saved him, but didn’t have enough time to save them both. I could tell it was getting to him just by looking at him and if it were anyone else, I’d be worried. But Jack always felt the need to save everyone.

After all the drama with the drowning happened, I made my way into the shelter I’d called my own. I had found my suitcase a few days ago, and since rescue didn’t seem to be coming in the near future, I figured I may as well start to unpack. I didn’t end up getting very far before I heard a commotion outside on the beach.

I peeked my head outside of my tent, dreading even the thought of another fight, to see Charlie, Michael and Kate carrying a very passed out Claire into the infirmary. I shot to my feet within seconds.

“What happened?” Kate and I asked at nearly the same time. If it had been any other time, I might have laughed, but looking down at my pregnant friend, I really couldn’t.

“She just dropped.” Charlie replied, as they laid her down on the table.

“It must be the heat. Is she breathing?” Kate asked.

“Yeah, I think.” Michael answered.

I watched for a moment as they tried to get her to wake up, causing her to stir a bit. I let out the anxious breath I had been holding in. Charlie searched around for water to give Claire and looked up at us with wide, worried eyes.

“The water's gone. Someone stole it.” He said and I think all of our anxiety came back within milliseconds. First the food, and now the water. How were they going to survive on this damned island?

It had to have been around an hour later that Kate asked to speak to me alone. I was almost certain she was going to apologise for ratting on me to Jack when I collapsed a few days earlier, and I felt awkward as I prepared for it. I really wished that was what she said to me.

“Lana, no one can find Jack.” The words rolled out of her mouth easily, but there was a nervousness in her eyes.

“What?” Heart racing, I turned around. My eyes scanned the beach, looking at everyone, searching for one person but coming up empty. I couldn’t tell you how many times I did this, before Kate gripped onto my shoulders. “But—but where is he?”

“We don’t know. Did he… say anything to you?” She was hesitant and I knew there was something she wasn’t telling me. But all I could think back to was what he had said the night before. He saw our father.

“I need to find him.” I jerked myself out of her loose grip, ready to go somewhere – anywhere. She had her grip back on me within seconds. “Kate—“

“Look, he’s only been gone for a couple of hours.” She stopped me and I turned to face her, my eyes not meeting hers. “If we don’t see him by tonight, we’ll go find him. _Together_.”

I didn’t respond, but I gave her the tiniest nod I could muster. She let go of me after that but doesn’t move to walk away. I ended up doing that, heading straight towards the shelter I was forced to call my home. And as I plopped myself down in the sand in front of it, all I could think of was what Jack had said to me before. _We’re the only family we have on this island._

**_*Flashback*_ **

I checked my suitcase one last time, making sure for the fifth time that I definitely had everything, before there was a knock on my door. I glanced up to see Nancy, a blonde haired nurse that I had decidedly considered my friend. She was a lot nicer than the other ones in here. She actually had a heart.

“Your ride is here.” She told me, but her feet remained planted. I eyed her with a sad smile on my face before casting a look down to zip up my suitcase. A moment later, I had my arms around her in a hug.

“I’m gonna miss you.” I revealed and I heard her laugh against my hair before pulling back.

“Believe it or not, I’ll miss you, too.” She replied with a smile, before she led me down a hallway I could walk with eyes closed. Looking down the corridor, I expected to see my mother waiting for me with a fake grin plastered on her face, like I had every other time. But the chairs were empty. I really didn’t expect to see my brother’s car parked outside the main doors.

“Jack?” I questioned, approaching the car after waving goodbye to Nancy. He glanced up at me and gave me a tight smile.

“Surprise.” His eyebrows raised as he stepped out of the car, reaching for my suitcase. I watched him put it in the trunk with eyebrows scrunched. Why was he here? Did mom die or something?

I made my way over to the passenger’s seat, putting my seatbelt on as he closed the door behind me. When he finally got in his side, I turned to him, ready to fire twenty questions. He stopped me before I could even ask the first one.

“We’re going to Australia.” My eyes widened, head slightly tilted as I was suddenly under the impression that I’d lost my mind. “To find dad.”

It made sense then.

**_*End flashback*_ **

With the sun setting in front of me, I picked uselessly at the frays in the hoodie I had in my lap. Jack was still nowhere to be found. Instead of helping figure out who stole the water with Kate, or sitting with Claire to play nurse for the day, I had just sat here – waiting. Kate had said she’d wait till night time, but she wasn’t his family. I couldn’t wait any longer.

As I made my way through the beach, I kept an eye on Kate. She was speaking to Sayid with arms crossed and I forced my legs to move faster to pass by without her noticing. I barely made it to the jungle line before I felt myself being pulled back.

“Now where the hell are you goin’, Cathy Gale?” My eyes closed as I let out a breath, really not in the mood for whatever crap this man had to say. I didn’t even know who this Cathy person was.

“Where do you think?” I ripped my arm out of Sawyer’s grasp and stared him down. Or rather, tried to stare him down. He was a lot taller than me and a lot more intimidating. “Jack’s been gone—“

“What, and you’re gonna play hide and seek with the polar _boars_ and whatever else is in that thing?” He threw a pointed hand towards the trees I’d tried to go through. “Look, that man can’t go a day without bein’ some kind of hero. Might as well be tattooed on his freakin’ forehead.”

“That’s cute and all, Sawyer, but I really can’t chance that.” I shook my head, prepared to turn back to the tree line before there’s shouting down the beach. My head turned to see Boone lying in the sand with Charlie shouting over him. I threw once last glance a glance at Sawyer before rushing over.

“Claire could've died!” I heard Charlie shout as I approached. A crowd started to form and I can’t help myself search for Jack’s face.

“I tried to give her some sooner, but it just got out of hand. No one would have understood.” Boone said, before Kate runs over.

“What is going on?” No one answered her and within seconds, the two men are pushing each other.

“Leave him alone!” I nearly jumped at the sight of my brother stepping in. Charlie and Boone stopped fighting, Sayid helping a little bit with that. Everyone’s eyes were on Jack. “It's been six days and we're all still waiting. Waiting for someone to come. But what if they don't? We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out. A woman died this morning just going for a swim and he tried to save her, and now you're about to crucify him? We can't do this. Every man for himself is not going to work. It's time to start organizing. We need to figure out how we're going to survive here. Now, I found water. Fresh water, up in the valley. I'll take a group in at first light. If you don't wanna come then find another way to contribute. Last week most of us were strangers, but we're all here now. And god knows how long we're going to be here. But if we can't live together, we're going to die alone.”

Jack’s eyes caught mine on the last part of his speech and a few minutes after he was finished speaking, I was crushing him in a hug. I could wetness on my arms, my own tears soaking me, but I didn’t care.

“Don’t ever do that again.” I told him once we separated. The look on his face told me he wouldn’t. With a small smile, he walked off to speak to other people. I imagined it was to plan their first trip to the fresh water he’d found. A throat cleared loudly behind me and I spun, spotting Sawyer behind me.

“Well,” his eyebrows raised with a satisfied smile on his lips. “I hate to say I told you so.”

I grinned.  


	7. Chapter Seven

It had been a week since we crashed. Jack and a few others had geared up to start their trek to the caves Jack found, while I decided to stay on the beach. I felt bad for refusing Jack when he asked if I wanted to come along, but I wanted to contribute in a different way. So I had decided to search for any fruit I could find in the jungle. I hadn’t strayed too far from the beach, only a few yards and I came back with a pleased smile, a bunch of bananas hanging from my shoulders. The smile didn’t last long, literally dropping within seconds when I watched Jin tackle Michael in the water.

The bananas laid quickly forgotten in the sand as I raced over there. I didn’t know how long they were fighting before I saw them, but Michael looked nearly unconscious. As I got closer, I saw Walt try to stop the man from beating his father, only to get pushed away roughly. I felt my eyes narrow. Really, a kid?

“Hey!” I yelled, when Michael’s face began to get pushed under the ocean water. I ran over, trying to push the Korean off of him, only to be pushed back just like Walt had.

“Do something! He's going to kill him! Stop him, please!” The little boy screamed. My heart broke for him. I kept trying to push him, when I suddenly felt myself being torn away. I yelped, struggling against the arms that held me before I realised it was Sawyer. He dropped me soon after, helping Michael up and out of the water. Sayid tried to hold Jin back, who struggled roughly in his grip. His eyes said murder.

“The handcuffs from the Sky Marshal!” Sayid shouted to Sawyer. “Now!”

Within five minutes, Jin was handcuffed to a piece of the plane wreckage, still struggling. I couldn’t really wrap my head around what I just witnessed. Why was he trying to kill Michael?

“What happened?” Sayid’s question was aimed at Sun, who just stared at him.

I walked away soon after that, not in the mood for the shouting that I heard behind me as Michael was questioned. I really wished I could speak Korean. I walked into my shelter, quickly changing from my soaked clothes into some dry ones. I left after that, wet clothes in my arms as I made my way to the makeshift clothes line people had made a few days prior.

“You just keep getting’ stupider and stupider, Twig.” I didn’t have to look up from what I was doing to figure out who it was, Sawyer’s accent and stupid nickname ringing clear bells in my mind.

“And why’s that?” My eyes rolled as I asked the question, not even bothering to throw him a glance.

“You see that look in Mr. Miyagi eyes and you still decide to play referee?” The southerner let out a scoff. “You’re either stupid or crazy, that’s for sure.”

“Oh, shut up, Sawyer.” I full on faced him, a glare present on my face. “What the hell was I supposed to do? Stand there and watch him get killed?”

“You stand there and wait for someone who’s not ninety pounds soaking wet to get involved.” His expression matched my own – _angry_. I was angry at him for berating me for trying to help, why was **_he_** angry? “Next time, me and Mohammed might not be there to help your ass. What’re you gonna do then, Xena?”

My mouth stayed closed, unable to even think of an answer to that question. I’d dealt with a protective brother my whole life, never a protective stranger I’d crashed on an island with. Our eyes were locked in almost a stand-off, Sawyer’s eyes filled with anger, mine with confusion. His gaze fell before mine, before stuffing his own wet clothes in my arms. He didn’t say anything when he walked away, but I couldn’t stop my thoughts from racing then. I hung his clothes beside mine.

“Hey,” Jack greeted me, handing me a bottle of water. I took a long sip once I opened it, not realising how thirty I was. I’d been sitting at the beach after my fight with Sawyer, keeping an eye on Jin who was still handcuffed and trying to focus on the book that laid on my lap.

“Thanks.” I mumbled, setting the bottle down beside me. He took a seat next to me in the sand.

“I want us to move to the caves.” He started, looking ahead at the ocean. “I’ve already talked to a few people and they’re on board. It’s the perfect spot. Shaded from the sun, endless supply of water—“

“But what about getting rescued?” I sat up straighter, my eyebrows pulled together by confusion.

“What’s the point in getting rescued if we’re all dead? Heat exhaustion, thirst? We need to think about surviving.” My brother pressed. My eyes left him and my teeth found my bottom lip, biting down. I didn’t want to move to the caves. I liked it here. “Look, we’re leaving soon. An hour or so. Get your bag packed.”

I glared at his back as he walked away before getting up. My feet moved, but not in the direction of my shelter. I headed straight for the person who was quickly becoming a pain in my ass – and I had no clue why.

“Are you going?” The question rolled out of my mouth as soon as I got close to his tent. Sawyer looked up at me with a smug smile on his face and I instantly regretted asking him. “Neverm—“

“Now, hold on, sweetcheeks.” I turned back to face him, his smile never faded. “You really questionin’ whether to follow that hero brother of yours?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged, kicking around the sand beneath my feet. “He doesn’t really want to give me a choice in the matter, so.”

“Well, damn. Given your performance earlier, I didn’t think you were the type of gal to take orders from no one.” His eyebrows raised as he spoke.

“Look, are you going or not?” I rolled my eyes. If his smirk could’ve grown any bigger, it would’ve fallen off his face. With crossed arms, I watched him rise from his spot.

“Why do you care, huh?” He asked, standing in front of me.

“Don’t flatter—“

“Don’t flatter myself?” Sawyer let out a small laugh before leaning closer to me. I could almost feel his breath on my skin. “Honey, I’ll flatter myself all I want. Seems to me like your answer depends a hell of a lot on mine. Ain’t that funny.”

My breath got caught in my throat as he leaned even further, his breath tickling my ear. “I ain’t going.”

I took the opportunity to push him off of me, glaring at him as he laughed. I sped away quickly, not liking the feeling I had in my stomach when he was close to me.

Jack found me around thirty minutes later, sitting outside my spot on the beach. He had approached me with a smile, but it faded when he looked around me.

“Where’s your stuff?”

“I’m not going.” I answered swiftly, never one to beat around the bush. The look he gave me was shocked, eyes wide and mouth open slightly.

“What do you mean you’re not going?” He asked before his jaw clenched. I let out a sigh.

“Look, I think moving to the caves is a good idea. It’s smart.” I told him, giving him a shrug. “But I don’t want to move there. I like it here. Yeah, it’s hot and there’s sand fleas and boars, but… I like it here, Jack.”

“But who’s gonna keep an eye on you?” He questioned and I rolled my eyes.

“Jack, I’m a big girl.” She started, before letting out a sigh at the look on his face. “Plus, Kate’s staying. Plus Sayid and Sawyer. I think I’m gonna be safer than you.”

Surprisingly, Jack let out a laugh.

“You sure you don’t want to stay here?” I joined him, nudging his shoulder. He shook his head before standing and I followed suit, wrapping my arms around him in a tight hug. “I’ll be okay.”

“I know you will.” He said once we finished hugging. “I’ll see you soon. You know where to find me.”

I threw him a smile and a wave as he walked away, meeting up with the others to begin their walk. I heaved a sigh, feeling bittersweet about the whole thing, before moving on to help the others build fires for the night. As I picked up some wood, I caught eyes with Sawyer, who stood a few feet away.

He winked.


End file.
